Calling Forever
by ShellSueD
Summary: After indulging in too much wine and chocolate, Stephanie finds herself with a decision to make before she indulges in way more with Ranger.


_**This was all LilyGhost's idea, so many thanks to her for the inspiration, for the title and for the summary. You are the best.**_

_**alix33 is also the best because she fixed all my errors**_

_**Anything familiar belongs to JE**_

* * *

"You're looking sort of dazed …are you sure you're okay?"

Ranger was standing close to me, _too_ close. Mostly because it was pouring and the small space beneath the blue and white awning was relatively dry, but also because Ranger _always_ stood close to me. Did I mention _too_ close?

"I'm fine," I answered automatically. I wasn't and he knew it but he didn't push and I was grateful. I was sure I would burst into tears if he tried to get the truth out of me. He lifted a hand and brushed his thumb lightly over my cheek, probably only trying to remove some dirt or food or god only knew what might have made its way onto my face but it still made my breath catch and my stomach do a little flip.

"It's only a car, Steph, they're easily replaced - you're one of kind." He ran his thumb over my cheek again and I felt the tears coming. Damn him. I blinked furiously, willing them away. I was not going to cry in front of Ranger. _Why did he have to say stuff like that?_

"Yeah, one kind of pain in the ass." I swallowed hard and blinked one last time, getting myself under control. "I'm sorry about the Mercedes. You have to stop giving me cars; they always end up stolen or destroyed."

The corners of his lips tilted up in what passed as a smile, at least for Ranger. "I'm just glad you weren't in it, Babe, and I like giving you cars. Do you need a ride home?" Lightning lit up the night sky and gave me an unwanted view of the burned out shell of the SUV Ranger had loaned me only two days before. The fire department came right away but it was a lost cause before they even arrived.

I wanted to say yes but Lula was on her way and if he took me home he'd insist on walking me to the door and checking under my bed for monsters. I didn't want him in my apartment because the way I was feeling I would ask him to stay and he _would_ and it would be all sorts of amazing…but then he would be gone before the sun came up and I just…didn't want to deal with that.

"No, but thanks. Lula is coming to get me."

He nodded once and then reached for my jacket. It was hanging open and he tugged the sides together and zipped it up, letting his fingers linger a little too long when they reached the top. "You are not a pain in the ass, Stephanie." He said it so softly that I barely heard it over the rain and then his lips were on mine.

The kiss was gentle and sweet and just what I needed at that moment. _How does he always know exactly what I need?_

"I'll have Tank drop off a company vehicle in the morning," he said after separating our lips. "And don't even think about protesting," he added when I opened my mouth to do just that. He turned up the collar on his coat and then stepped out into the rain. Never in my life have I wanted so badly to be a collar.

I sighed out loud and watched him cross the street to the Turbo. Well, I tried to watch, it was dark and he was of course in all black and blended into the night like a ninja. I waited for the interior light of the Porsche to come on but Lula's Firebird arrived, blocking my view. By the time I dashed out and slid into the passenger seat, there was no trace of him.

I brought comfort food," Lula announced and shoved a brown paper bag into my lap as I snapped my seatbelt into place. "Was that the Wizard I saw leavin'?"

"Yeah," I murmured as I peered into the bag. "This is filled with chocolate and wine," I said, pulling out a Hershey's Kiss.

"Well, the doughnut shop is closed and 7-11 was out outta TastyKakes so that there is some damn good improvisation. Was Ranger pissed about his fine ass car gettin' burnt to shit?"

I tore off the silver wrapper and popped the chocolate into my mouth. I sucked on it for a second, letting it melt a little on my tongue. "No, but not much fazes the man, you know that."

"True, and that's why I wanna know why I'm driving you home instead of that hot as hell superhero. You could be gettin' busy in the Batcave right now. Ain't a lot of men who'd still want in your pants after you blew up their car, but that man? He wants your skinny white ass somethin' bad."

I bit down on the kiss, chewing slowly while I thought about that. She had a point; Ranger had never been shy about his attraction to me but that's all it was. Not that there was anything wrong with a healthy dose of lust, but I was pretty sure I wanted way more than one unbelievable night in his bed and he'd made it clear he didn't have more than that to offer.

I sighed and pulled out another kiss. "It's complicated," I told her and ate the second piece of chocolate.

Lula turned to me as she slowed for a red light. "How so?" One eyebrow was arched in such a good imitation of Ranger that I almost laughed.

"It just is." It was a lame response but I didn't want to get into it with Lula. She thought I was crazy for not jumping his bones every time I saw him.

"Huh," she grunted eloquently as the light turned green. "Seems pretty simple to me." She hit the gas and I ate some more candy. "He wants you and you want him, there ain't nothin' complicated about it. I bet if you went over there right now, you be doin' some freaky mattress dancin' in ten seconds flat."

I froze with a kiss halfway to my mouth. "Mattress dancing?"

Lula flashed me all her teeth. "Damn skippy. I'm guessin' Ranger knows every step of that particular dance to perfection."

I was grateful it was dark because I could feel the blush tinting my cheeks at the memory of the last time I'd done that dance with him. Not only was he perfect, I had firsthand knowledge that a mattress wasn't even necessary.

But that was a long time ago.

"What kind of wine is this?" I asked peering into the bag again and trying, not very subtlety, to change the subject. I knew she wouldn't fall for it.

"The red kind. You tryin' to work shit out with Officer Hottie again?" She asked and I made a face. I hadn't thought about Joe in months and I didn't want to ever again.

"No! Morelli is scum. That rat bastard can go right to hell."

Lula raised both eyebrows at my outburst. "Do you wanna share?"

I did not. Joe told me one too many times how much he hated my job and that he wanted a girlfriend who didn't give him an ulcer so I told him to go find one and that is exactly what he did. More than one, in fact. Last I heard he was doing his own mattress dancing with half the woman over in Hamilton Township.

"No. It's not worth talking about." And thankfully, we were only a block from my apartment so I stuffed more chocolate in my mouth so I wouldn't have to say anything else. Hopefully I wouldn't slip into a diabetic coma just to avoid telling Lula that I was in love with Ranger.

_Am_ I in love with him? _Shit._ It sure would explain a lot. I sighed and looked into the bag again. The kisses were half gone and I hoped I had a bottle opener because I had a feeling I was going to be drinking at least one of these bottles tonight.

"Earth to Stephanie."

I looked up and found Lula staring at me. "What?"

"Were you were contemplatin' death by chocolate or wine or both?

"What?" I asked again stupidly. Maybe I should lay off the sugar.

"We've been in your lot for a while," Lula informed me, pointing out the windshield with her long, purple fingernail. Her nails were the same shade as her hair.

I followed the line of her finger and saw my building. "Sorry. Thanks for the ride and for the comfort." I held up the bag and then released the seatbelt. She stopped me with a hand on my arm when I opened the door. "Hey, are you okay?"

I didn't really know what I was but I appreciated her concern. "Yeah, but thanks for asking. I'm just going to drink some of this wine and go to bed."

Lula nodded and I could tell she wanted to argue but thankfully all she said was, "There's a sale at Macy's tomorrow, you wanna go?"

"Pick me up at ten."

I waved as I headed for the lobby and she hit her horn with two short blasts in response. I took the elevator to my floor and let myself into my apartment. I said hello to Rex and set the bag on the counter before extracting the contents. There were two bottles of a Pinot Noir I'd never heard of, and of course, half a bag of kisses. I dug around in my drawer until I found the corkscrew and quickly opened one bottle. I didn't have any wine glasses so I filled half a coffee mug and took a long swallow. It was pretty good so I took another. And then I finished the whole cup.

"It's been a hell of a day, Rex," I said to my pet and got some Cheerios out of the cupboard. I dumped a few into his cage and he scurried out of his soup can and stuffed two into his cheeks before running back into hiding.

"Another one of Ranger's cars blew up and apparently, I am in love with him. Did you know that?" Rex came out of his can one more time and stopped to look at me before running off with two more Cheerios. It was probably my imagination but the expression on his furry face clearly said, "No shit, Sherlock."

I just told my hamster I am in love with Ranger when I hadn't even admitted it myself, let alone to Ranger. Maybe I needed to lay off the wine _and_ sugar.

After a shower, the rest of the bottle of wine and most of the chocolate, I was feeling better. I'd stopped worrying about destroying another car and I'd also convinced myself that it wasn't love I felt for the mysterious man in black. How could I be in love with him? I didn't even know enough about him to be in love. I was in lust with him, about that there was no question and maybe I wanted to be in lust with him every day for the rest of our lives but that wasn't the same thing as love. _Was it?_

Lula was right, this was simple. I wanted him, he wanted me and we both had a mattress. Not that we needed one.

I settled on the couch and put on my favorite movie and then I picked up my phone from the coffee table. I would just call and tell him that and maybe, if I was lucky, he'd want to do some mattress dancing soon. I hit the first speed dial button and then nearly jumped out of my skin when a phone rang right outside my door.

_Shit!_ I jumped up from the couch and disconnected my phone. _Ranger was here!_ Before another thought could form he had my door open and was standing in my living room.

His dark brown eyes scanned my body from top to bottom, and there was no mistaking his appreciation for my outfit. His tongue darted out and touched his lips like he was looking at a delicious dessert he couldn't wait to devour. A small fire started to burn low in my belly and his penetrating gaze was making me squirm. When he quietly said, "Is this what you sleep in?" I remembered what I had on.

I glanced down at the too small Wonder Woman t-shirt and the powder blue boy short panties I'd chosen to wear tonight. The shirt was stretched to its limits across my breasts and I could feel my nipples hardening under his thorough inspection. "Sometimes," I said and winced at the breathy sound of my voice. "Why? What do you wear to bed?"

A slow smile lifted the corners of his mouth until he was showing me all two hundred watts. "That is something I'd prefer showing you."

I swallowed hard, tasting wine and chocolate and thought I would prefer he showed me too. Although, I'd spent one night with Ranger and he hadn't worn a thing to bed so I was pretty sure I already knew his pajama preference.

I had no idea how to respond to that so I sat down on the couch and reached for the second bottle of wine I'd just opened. "Would you like some?" I filled half the mug and held it out to him. He eyed the cup and then took in the coffee table that was littered with empty Hershey's kisses wrappers.

_"Babe,"_ he said, but took the wine and then sat down beside me. _Very close to me._ Our thighs were touching and even through the heavy material of his pants I could feel the heat coming off his body. _I was in serious trouble._

"What are you doing here, Ranger?" I asked, thinking maybe if I kept him talking it would keep me from tearing his clothes off and doing the mattress dance on the couch. Or on the coffee table. Or the kitchen counter.

"I wanted to see you again," he admitted bluntly. Yep, I was in serious trouble. "Why did you just call me, Stephanie?"

Could I just say what I was going to say when I'd called? Right to his face? "Because I want you." _Apparently I can._

Ranger's entire body went very still and then he set the coffee mug onto the table and turned his torso so he could look directly into my eyes. "Is that the wine and chocolate talking, or you?"

Lula's words kept bouncing around in my head. _You want him and he wants you._ But did I want him just for tonight? I knew he would be gone in the morning, probably before I even woke up...was I okay with that? Could I handle only sex with Ranger? I could if it was only lust between us and not that other _L _word. And hadn't I already told myself that is all it was? _Damn straight I had_. "It's me, all me."

"For how long?" He asked, completely throwing me off. _What?_

"What? What do you mean?"

"For how long do you want me? Just for tonight?"

_What? What? What the hell was he saying?_ "I don't...what do you mean?"

"I want to know what you want from me, Steph. Do you want tonight or do you want forever?"

I launched to my feet, nearly knocking over the coffee table. A few empty candy wrappers skittered and fell to the floor. _Was_ _he offering forever?_ My heart was hammering in my chest and I felt like I was going to fly apart but Ranger sat on the couch, the perfect picture of calm, waiting for my answer.

"I uh...I didn't know forever was an option."

He pushed up off the couch and stood inches from me. "It didn't use to be." My breath hitched when his hands curled into my hips and he drew me up against the hard length of his body. "But now that it is, I need to know if that is something you want, because if it is, I am going to strip you naked and take you to bed and if it isn't I am going to kiss you goodnight and then go home."

That was not anywhere in the realm of things I was expecting him to say. This was coming from the man who seemed to go out of his way to remind me that he didn't do relationships and now he was standing here telling me he wanted forever? Why? What had changed? Did I care? I probably should care, but I don't think I do. There wasn't enough wine or chocolate in the world that could convince me I didn't love him, even if I tried to believe differently. I wanted him and I wanted him forever. I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass by.

"I want forever," I confessed and before either of us could change our minds, Ranger was kissing me and slowly stripping me out of my clothes. True to his word, he took me to bed and when he slid home and whispered my name as he took us both over the edge, I knew he would still be right beside me in the morning.

And all the mornings after that.


End file.
